May 8 (Reuters) - Australia’s Macquarie Group on Friday reported an 8.4% drop in annual profit, hurt by higher impairments relating to potential economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

The financial group’s profit for the year ended March 31 fell to A$2.73 billion ($1.78 billion), compared to a record profit of A$2.98 billion a year earlier, missing an estimate of A$2.81 billion by a Reuters poll.

Macquarie slashed its final dividend to A$1.80 per share, compared with last year’s payout of A$3.60 per share.